


공주 (Gong-ju)

by gominsoo



Category: MXM (Band)
Genre: 1800 century, AU, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Love Triangle, OC, Royalty, Violence, daehwi is a sassy brat, insert reader - Freeform, reader - Freeform, royal au, this is a bad attempt, this whole fic is literally inspired by the outfit and hair of donghyun at dream concert, youngmin is the big bro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:56:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gominsoo/pseuds/gominsoo
Summary: Donghyun, currently prince of Daejeon, is supposed to marry Hyejin, prince of Goyang, sooner than expected. Meanwhile you have been standing on the sidelines and enjoying a mild taste of royalty for the past 14 years after Donghyun's family saved your life.At first you do not care about Donghyun's arranged marriage, after all he's like your brother until suddenly the boy starts to become a young man in front of your eyes.





	공주 (Gong-ju)

**November 1804**

The heat was unbearable, the smoke pricking onto your eyes whenever you dared to open them the slightest and making your lungs force you to cough while the soundscape creating itself around you unfolded into pure chaos within a matter of seconds.  
It wasn't rare that small villages were being attacked during the time of your being. In fact with an age of just six years you would even use the term _used to it_ by now. Marauders and thieves took advantages of the nonexistent knights or even soldiers, unguarded borders and rivers to take what they claimed to be theirs. Your birthplace, _Gongju,_ was known for its great fishery due to the fact that the village was surrounded closely by a river, which wasn't often the case as other villages from neighbors had to travel a bit to do fishery. This lead to being attacked at least once or twice a month. They would enter your mother's shop with guns and huge bags in their hands, demanding her to give them all her money and fish she had both in the front counter and in the back of the shop in the storage. They would always threaten her to otherwise hurt her and your older brother, sometimes even your father when he wasn't on duty. To save your brothers and your lives was her answer whenever you told her not to give in with your childlike thoughts. You could barely make out what consequences there would have been if she would not have given in, even when you felt fearful whenever someone was pointing a sword or gun at you.  
Today was different, far different from the attacks within the past few days. They had doubled within the past three to four months and the people had filed a complaint to the city that was ruling Gongju called Daejeon. The king, queen and even the oldest prince sometimes paid a visit. They weren't as bad as other rulers that you had heard about that didn't listen to their people at all, but in your stubborn mind you were thinking that they were not doing enough when you saw your mother financially struggling while your father was even serving him - which was supposed to benefit you a better living. With your young mind you were just thinking that it wasn't fair. People in _Daejeon_ were living a great, luxurious life while your family who lived approximately thirty minutes of horse riding away had to life in fear, as well as other villagers.  
His last visit which had been a few weeks ago was supposed to change something for the people of Gongju. Majesty Kim had promised to hire guards for the borders as well as let knights patrol within the village square. Your older brother who was already 12 years old at that time had told you it wasn't going to be this easy when you had been too optimistic about the empty promises. Days passed like dusts and neither guards nor knights seemed to be in sight, even though rumors were going on that Majesty Kim had been hiring new people for the spot.  
Two days ago the villagers had filed another written complaint to Majesty Kim and demanded from him to make his empty promises come true while paying Gongju another last visit. Today you were being visited, but it wasn't the visit everybody had hoped for.  
_Today was different_. There more thieves attacking your city than they ever had been before and most importantly: They weren't trying to steal anything. Instead of running up to your neighbor and demanding jewelry and fish a person underneath a metal child stabbed the innocent old man and your brother had to pull you away from the scene that unfolded before your eyes.  
Flames started to spread into the sky. Your mother was yelling something at your brother as she put a heavy backpack on your back while he was quickly tying your shoes since you were still learning it and were very slow at it. She had told you she would follow with your father soon as you had asked her why she wasn't coming with you and your older brother. Your mother had always kept her promises with a faint smile, so you trusted her and blindly followed your brother outside.  
Within the hurry and the chaos he had suddenly been pulled away from your side and the dust had been making it hard to figure out anyone or anything around you. You had called out for his name while people were pushing you, a small child, so that they were able to run away from whatever evil that was going after them. You brother's voice never echoed back.  
As the fire had started to spread further into the village you had figured out you would need to hide somewhere and here you were, hiding behind one of the few stone houses of your villages, watching the other homes burn down while the thieves had left due to the smoke and fire. The thieves, or you might as well call them murderers, leaving didn't mean any less chaos. Actually the chaos had just even started when surprisingly Majesty Kim as well as some of his knights had entered the village. You hadn't seen them, truthfully, but people that were staying with their dying relatives were starting to talk about it and it was the last thing that kept you awake while you leaned against the stone house to hopefully absorb some of the cold.  
Within the yelling a voice and a name stood out the most. Majesty Kim's voice was especially deep and booming whenever he spoke, especially now that he seemed to be near and his arrival had become reality. Finally they would help out your parents so your family would be able to survive. He would also make sure your brother was okay and you wouldn't need to cry any further.  
"Donghyun!", you heard Majesty Kim yell and the woman who had sat down next to you with an older and bleeding Lady in her lap, seemingly her mother, suddenly looked up into the mixture of dust and ash while combing her mother's grey hair with her fingers.  
"Isn't that the prince's name?", she questioned with raised eyebrows directed towards you. You on the other hand shrugged your shoulders as you got up from the stairs. Donghyun was your age and whenever Majesty Kim had come to visit he would bring the prince along, allowing him to play with other children on the village square. He had once told you and the other kids that there weren't any other children within the palace so he felt lonely and demanded to accompany his father to the villages he was visiting. If it was really was _Prince of Daejeon_ , you would know the second he'd show up.  
You were starting to get confused as you heard several voices that grew louder yell back _We're fine!_ after a couple of minutes and the chaos was finally clearing a little, except for that you were starting to feel weak from the dust and the heat so you had decided to sit down and lean against the cold stone wall again.  
Suddenly people ran through the dust and almost past you and the two women. Within last seconds you had been able to make out that actually you're best friend you had been searching for together with your brother was running away with Youngmin, an older friend of you two, and another boy with darker hair. You gathered all the last power you were able to unite within yourself and yelled out your best friend's name, _"Woojin!"_  
Hearing your voice he halted his actions instantly and you remember how his eyes had widened in shock when he had made out the voice to really be you, yelling after the two boys that were with him. Youngmin as well as the dark haired boy had turned around and the now crying woman next to you looked up from her mother's darkened face, "Your Highness!"  
Majesty Kim had really been yelling for his son a few minutes ago. Since you were just a little child you didn't question why the son, the heir of the throne, was allowed to be in such a dangerous and you just adapted to the situation as Woojin pushed you up from the ground and started carrying you with the prince due to your lack of energy. You remember how Youngmin was talking to the woman who had just lost her mother, before a near yell of the prince's name resonated within the city once more.

**January 1810**

It was Daehwi's 9th birthday and the palace was celebrating the second prince's date of birth as pompous as always, much to his disagreement, since Daehwi had requested to celebrate his birthday alone with his family for once yet here you were, standing between Youngmin, who was growing taller day by day, and Woojin in the first row as the ceremony unfolded in front of you. You noticed how Daehwi was trying to keep his smile while the knights were performing a choreography in front of them for the villagers and him as well as compassionate Donghyun who knew how much his younger brother had begged their parents to let the ceremony be cancelled. His parents had been strongly against it. Since Donghyun's birth they had never ever cancelled a birthday ceremony under any circumstances. They were very traditional people like everyone during the 1800th century. The people of Daejeon believed that if you didn't honor and celebrate someone's birthday, the evil spirits would come and get them killed since you didn't value their birth. Daehwi had once told you and the others that he thought was superstition at its finest and while Donghyun had chuckled at his younger brother you knew that if anybody else in Daejeon would take the word _Superstition_ into their mouth they would be gone for good.  
While Daehwi was holding his speech Donghyun had written for him the night before you and said one locked eyes. He started grinning at you for a weak second before going back to his usual gentle yet polite gaze towards his people. You controlled your laughter and only let out a chuckle, thinking back to yesterday's evening. Daehwi was way too young to hold a very informative and adult-like speech, but he was supposed to be learning exactly that since a few weeks. What his parents didn't know was that Daehwi liked to skip his private lessons in the morning so he could draw something. Donghyun being the good older brother eventually had helped him and had written the speech for him under one condition, which was most probably the reason why he had shot you a grin.  
"Lastly, I would like to thank my brother who is always leading me well", Daehwi continued, "In order to thank him not only by words I'm bequeathing him my- wait.", Daehwi furrowed his eyebrows slightly, but then composed himself quickly and continued. Him and Donghyun were taught to continue you with whatever it was so that the people wouldn't question their soon to be king or be worried about them, "I'm bequeathing him my special birthday cake for this year. Thank you."  
Daejeon's people as well as you, Youngmin and Woojin clapped while Youngmin let out a remark about Donghyun being very clever this time. Last year he had tried to steal the cake from Daehwi, this year he was making sure it would be given to him in front of everyone.  
"What a clever Prince Daejeon has.", Youngmin chuckled as servant came to the front to bring the cake to Donghyun. He bowed at him full 90 degree and Donghyun dismissed his polite manner with his hand quickly, causing the young man to smile at him. Donghyun was known and loved for this particular character trait. Even though Daehwi didn't like his parents way of making their life visible to everyone he did enjoy being served and people making him feel that he was superior. He enjoyed the rich and privileged lifestyle to an extent. Donghyun on the other hand was known for his kindness and gentle demeanor, always dismissing acts that revealed that he was of better status than the person that was serving him or in front of him. Many people called him _Daejeon's sweetheart_ instead of _Prince Donghyun_ or even _Your Highness_ which was something the oldest prince hated the most and you had often caught Youngmin teasing him with this title.  
Majesty Kim ended the ceremony and thanked everyone for attending it every single year. You ran up to Donghyun as the grounds started to clear, the richest people going back into their home directly next to the palace while the other villagers walked back to their homes located a few minutes past the wall of the palace.  
"His birthday cake, huh?"  
There was it. The grin that he didn't show to the audience was back for a few seconds until you stole one piece of cake, "Minkyung!", he complained and tried getting it away from you, so you shoved it down in one go instead and ran off, back into the palace together with Youngmin and Woojin.

 **March 1813**  
"Do it again.", Donghyun had commanded. To his dismay you didn't give in to his request right away and he started to walking towards you, pulling out his sword of its sheath on the way. You hadn't thought he was seriously going to launch an attack towards you, but the usual gentle prince proved you wrong and you were able to shield yourself with your sword last minute. For several seconds Donghyun kept on pushing against the metal in your hand with his and you were almost thinking you were going to lose against him once more when he suddenly gave up and bowed down in front of you in a exaggerated manner, as if his teacher would still be with you. You two always forgot to bow after each finished round to show respect to the other's hard work, causing his teacher to get angry with the both of you while Daehwi was always receiving praise whenever he was attending any class. By now it was clear who of the princes was being favored when it came to skills and requirements for a heir of the throne. Daehwi was only 12 and already being excellent in horse riding, manners, geography and fencing despite him constantly being zoned out and going back to his drawings. Donghyun on the other hand was getting more reserved about the lifestyle with each year passing. It was clear that he wasn't enjoying this life as a Prince despite many people being jealous of him and Daehwi's fate.  
"If you want to stay part of this palace you know what my mother said.", Donghyun remembered you as he brought the swords back into a glass cabinet at the far back of his huge bedroom. You sunk down onto his soft bed and looked at your hands, red from the hours of training self defense and cooking in the morning. His mother had disliked you from day one and you had only fully understood her reasoning until a few months ago. The reason Daehwi and Donghyun were only severed by men was to decrease the chance of them setting eyes on a normal person, a villagers, instead of a princess. She was only trying to save her kingdom, but even now when Donghyun threw himself onto the bed next to you her actions behind her thoughts and words weren't fully clear to you. Being interested in Donghyun was something that had never crossed your mind. After losing both your parents and your older brother him, Woojin, Youngmin and even sometimes sassy little Daehwi were like your new family. Donghyun filled the space of your older brother that often scolded you for doing things not princess-like enough, because surprisingly his father really liked you and even referred to you as _Princess_ , while his wife always corrected it. Donghyun always saw the wounds from cooking and cleaning and got his special nurse, the only woman who was allowed to get in contact with the boys, to take care of you. He let you sleep next to him in his bed whenever Woojin was already in a deep slumber and the nightmares about the fire in your villages were becoming too much for you to handle and he was the one who had once talked back to his mother when she had voiced her opinion of wanting you, Youngmin and Woojin out of the palace, since all three of you were only there since Donghyun had wanted to save his friends as a child and his parents had thought it was a noble gesture and great to show to the people of Daejeon. He had earned a slap for talking back to his mother and you had felt so bad for him that you had cooked his favorite meal solid for a whole week - even though he kept on telling you that you didn't have to.  
You shifted slightly to the side so you could look at Donghyun who had his eyes closed, seemingly exhausted from today's training. He was handsome with his full lips, big brown eyes and black hair that was clear contrast to his fair skin, but he was _just_ Donghyun, your older brother and you were _just_ his little sister that tried taking care of him to repay him for saving your life.

**September 1817**

It was when Donghyun and you were slowly turning 19 years old that life was starting to feel and get more serious. The silly times had become something of the past and Donghyun had acquired more and more duties he was so supposed to fulfill, more things he had to learn and on top of all the people of Daejeon were in restlessness since Majesty Kim had gotten sick. It was taking a toll both on the people and the princes, as well as his mother. If Donghyun's father wouldn't be able to win against his disease, Donghyun would need to become _King of Daejeon_ sooner than anyone had expected. Majesty Kim had only become King when he had turned 28 years old, which was a perfectly normal age. 19 or 20 years old was not.  
Donghyun rushing from meeting to meeting since he took all his father's duties on to his shoulders. His mother had ordered to not let any meeting or speech of her husband get canceled so that the possibly soon to become king would get used to his new lifestyle quickly. More than getting used to it, Donghyun was stressed out and it was both noticeable in his behavior as well as how he looked like. His gentle and kind demeanor was still there, but it had shrunk down and his smiles towards his people and fellow royals he met from other cities and sometimes even countries was faintly laying on his lips instead of being fully spread out. He used to radiate kindness. Everyone used to feel comfortable and welcome around him, including you, but the smile was faintly hidden under dark circles the maids needed to cover every morning before a schedule, the time they needed to cover them increasing each morning. The prince had to always look like his best to represent the kingdom and the people of Daejeon perfectly.  
"You're overworking yourself!", you had yelled at him one morning, a few days after his 19th birthday. He was barely able to dress himself and you had to help him get into his white dress shirt and blue blazer with silver ornaments that had become like an uniform to him. You barely saw him wear anything else anymore since the past month and you were sure he was owning like ten pair of each item in his closet, as well as another twenty pairs of the black pants.  
Normally he would have fought back, maybe even snap back at you due to his tiredness or tell you to not worry too much, but on this particular morning he didn't even push your hands away from the shirt as you buttoned it up and made sure that the blazer was sitting well around his torso without any creases or folds on them or otherwise you would need to take a new one and tell a servant about it.  
While you were brushing the material down on his arms you noticed that he had gained more muscles within the past weeks. He had had a lot more of sword training and fencing as well as horse riding and taking care of them, which was a hard job you knew out of own experience. He must have gained muscles from the sudden doubled physical work.  
"If it's wrinkled I'll just wear another one...", Donghyun pushed you out of your thoughts and you looked back to him, his eyes still closed due to the lack of sleep he was getting. You denied it and put your hands back to your side while getting up, suddenly feeling uneasy in front of him, being so close.  
Donghyun noticed the bed dipping and opened his eyes, watching as you walked up to the huge wooden door, "Where are you going?", he asked, voice still lazed with tiredness. You turned around to the boy who had secretly become a man in front of your eyes and saw him blinking at you once, then another time.  
"I'm telling one of the maids that they can begin with your make up. It's an hour until your meeting with Majesty Yoo and Princess Yoo."  
Donghyun on the other hand frowned at those names while you were hiding it. Princess Yoo Hyejin of Goyang was supposed to marry Donghyun and become the queen of Daejeon. The terrible and hurtful thing about arranged marriages was that two people were forced to marry each other, whether there was love going on or not. Donghyun had told his mother that he wasn't interested in Princess Hyejin more than once and even twice, but she kept on telling him that marriage wasn't about love, but to marry someone you can save two kingdoms with and make them grow, to take care of the economy of Daejeon as well as Goyang's citizens instead of them loving each other. Donghyun didn't like that, especially that they had to meet and get to know each other way early than soon to be husband and wife usually did. The two kingdoms usually meet up when both Prince and Princess turned 20 years old and then started to grow fond of each other within a few years. Meanwhile Donghyun was barely 19 years old and Princess Hyejin had turned 18 years old this year. Everybody in Daejeon talked about it. The possible marriage was the newest gossip and highlight and everybody agreed that they both were way too young, but if his father was going to die due to his disease it was going to be like this.  
"I don't like her.", Donghyun mumbled and you saw a slight pout form on his lips. You unknowingly smiled, seeing that the usual playful and sweet Donghyun seemed to stick out at least slightly, "I'm not into snobs. I've met her enough times to know I don't like her."  
You on the other side had to agree, but you swore yourself that you would not say anything bad about Princess Hyejin as long as she treated Donghyun well. You had noticed that she was very into the luxurious lifestyle and was basically the female version of Daehwi, just hundred times worse. In contrary to 16 year old Daehwi she enjoyed being royal and loved to feel superior. Despite you roughly being treated like a princess by everyone for the past 12 years in this palace and also being known and loved like that by the public eye she talked down to you, forced you to call her _Your Highness_ and didn't seem to be particularly fond of you. You had no clue what you had done to her that she was treating you like that and you were sad but not surprised that the Queen wasn't doing anything against it despite having seen her behavior towards you with her own eyes. You turned around to open the door with both hands which was very heavy as you suddenly heard Donghyun say something you had not expected to come from him, especially not at 7AM, "She doesn't treat you right."

**December 1817**

His Majesty had constituted you to come to his bedroom, far up on the 6th floor of the huge palace. He was in quarantine since the sickness had taken over him and nobody was sure if the disease he had was contagious or not. Usually only servants and maids were allowed to meet him, while his relatives and you were only allowed to stay with him for a few minutes in fear that he actually might be contagious.  
"Your Majesty, you have requested to see me?", you asked while you had closed the door behind his bedroom. Donghyun's father looked miserable, to say it nicely. His face was pale with his lips dry and eyes bloodshot. Whatever it was, the healer wasn't doing a good job and the church of Daejeon was praying and lighting candles in his room every day. As you came closer you even noticed that the candles next to his bed had been exchanged and were freshly lit. The church hoped that it would cleanse his soul and let him get through the disease.  
Majesty Kim tried to sit up as you stood next to his bed and if it would have been someone else, you would have hushed that person to stay still, but it was the king. You were in no way allowed to question him, advice him or change his behavior and intentions.  
With shaky arms Majesty Kim had been able to sit up and was trying to shot a smile at you, but he was obviously in pain.  
"I wanted to wish you a happy 19th birthday, my dear.", he explained his reasoning for constituting you to his room at such an early hour. Suddenly you remember. It was in fact your birthday today and not just New Year.  
You bowed deeply to show your respect and as you came up again he was still smiling at you.  
"You adjusted so well that I sometimes really forget that you're not a royal or from Daejeon.", he commented and laid down again as his arms had given in, forcing him down and back into his covers.  
Once more you bowed at him for the compliment while saying, "I learned a lot from your sons, Your Majesty."  
"Speaking of my sons, how is Donghyun doing? I haven't seen him for what feels like an eternity.", he complained, but it wasn't with any hidden hurtful intent as he suddenly started to laugh after his overdramatic words. In fact Donghyun hadn't visited his farther for roughly a week if you recalled it correctly. He had been extremly busy and the he was gone from the palace for a few days due to a trip with royal family Yoo that he was coming back from today.  
"Prince Donghyun was on a trip with Princess Hyejin as well as King and Queen of Goyang.", you informed him, arms now clasped behind your back. It was moments like these were you felt like being a servant or messenger of the royal family would have suited better. Due to everyone being so stressed within the last few months it wasn't rare that you were delivering information to someone together with Youngmin, an actual messenger.  
Majesty Kim smiled knowingly and asked you how well it was going between Princess Hyejin and Donghyun. You were conflicted. It was actually punishable to lie to the King, but you didn't want to make him sad and get worried about his oldest son, especially not when he was in such a bad state and nobody knew how long he was going to carry on. The message that he was dead could arrive any day at any given time. He wasn't supposed to have bad feelings within the last few days of his life.  
"I am not really sure, Your Majesty. Prince Donghyun and I don't have a lot of time to talk to each other these days.", you opted for option three, to act like you didn't know. In fact that wasn't a lie at all. You and Donghyun had barely talked to each other within the last few weeks and whenever you did meet him he felt like a new person to you; he started looking different to you in his freaking white dress shirt and this damn blue blazer. He wasn't the Donghyun you had grown up with. The kind yet silly boy who was too optimistic and soft-hearted for this world. He was now Prince Donghyun, a tall and handsome young man who was meeting his people in front of the palace to celebrate or to hold a speech. A man who didn't have time for games they had played together as a kid. He had become an adult in his behavior sooner than you had expected him to be.  
"That is unfortunate...", Majesty Kim answered, distress obviously displaying on his features, "When he comes back, please tell him I requested to see him." You bowed at him, signaling that you had understood his order and would do to his wishes.  
"I have another request.", the king suddenly spoke up as he had already had his eyes closed and you thought you had been dismissed. You turned around to him once more and straightened your back.  
"Enjoy your birthday, please!"  
Despite him having his eyes closed, you bowed at him, more deeply than you had to. You were simply thankful that the king was being and had always been so kind to you.

Your feet were starting to hurt as you were waiting for Donghyun and Princess Hyejin to arrive. The Queen had ordered that the soon to be married couple was supposed to be greeted properly, so every single member of the palace (excluding his sick dad, of course!) was now waiting at the front gates of the noble palace of Daejeon. Every single maiden, cook, servant, teacher, riding instructor, taxman, member of the royal family as well as Youngmin, Woojin and you were waiting to welcome them. This was not how you had wanted to spend your birthday, but whenever you got these thoughts in your head you were thinking about how grateful you should've been that this family accepted you instead of letting you get killed like the huge majority of the citizens of Gongju which were still suffering underneath the attack performed 14 years ago in 1804.  
The Queen hushed everyone back into their line and place when carriage with two leading white horses and a driver arrived. It was one of the most beautiful and noble things you had seen within the whole palace and you couldn't help but stare at in an awe whenever it was being used. The white polished wood framed the carriage and made it slightly look like a cube which made sure that everyone in there would have privacy. Nothing was to be seen from the outside and the small windows were often hidden by golden curtains that fitted the golden ornaments on the wood that were similar to the ornaments on Donghyun's blazer and most of the material and items owned by royal family Daejeon.  
The driver halted the horses at the beginning of the line where the most important people were standing at. His mother, his brother Daehwi as well as his aunt and two uncles. Right after them was Woojin who was contributing a lot to the weapons and horse riding, Youngmin who was becoming a cook and you who was doing a little bit of everything always placed at. The line continued further from most important to least important, ending with maids and lastly servants. Donghyun, Princess Hyejin and her parents had to greet everyone separately. Even if they were just servants or teachers to someone, each of them contributed something to the palace which was important and kept things going. To show their gratitude and respect that everything was still intact while the arranged couple was away for a couple of days, they had to thank each of them individually.  
Due to Ladies first Princess Hyejin was the first one to stand in front of you out of four people. She gave you the smallest head tilt someone could ever imagine and didn't even meet your eyes while saying a generic Thank you, King and Queen of Goyang following quickly in a similar, despite them being more polite and even bowing at you. After all a lot of people called you _Princess of Daejeon._  
You were almost caught off guard when Donghyun suddenly got into your vision seconds after King Yoo had faded away, quickly greeting other people next to you. Honestly, the whole Goyang family didn't seem as genuine as Daejeon. Donghyun's jet-black bangs were styled to the side which wasn't the case often, accentuating his facial structure, especially his cheek bones and his outfit was once more the perfect balanced contrast to his hair and skin.  
_Since when am I analyzing his outer appearance like that?_  
Donghyun bowed in front of you and you quickly followed him, "Hello Princess of Daejeon", he greeted you with the toothy smile you had missed. Even though he had whined a lot about having to do this trip with Hyejin it seemed to have been good for his health. His dark circles were gone and didn't have to be hidden under a pile of make up as it seemed like he wasn't wearing that much make up today. You felt your cheeks getting hot and were starting to worry about your body. Where you okay? Was Majesty Kim contagious?! "Prince of Daejeon.", you greeted him back and he had eventually proceed to continue greeting the rest of the members of the royal palace.  
You placed both of the backs of your palms against your cheeks and squeezed against them for a few seconds. They were still warm and you were sure your cheeks were flushed since you weren't wearing too much make up either.  
"Donghyun became a man.", Youngmin sing-sang next to you as he lightly nudged you with his elbows at your antics. You were trying your hardest to act like a royal and according to your age, so you put your hands to your side, thankful that Donghyun was the last person you had to greet.  
"That is a lot of blush you're wearing.", Woojin commented. "That isn't blush Woojin.", Youngmin added with a typical chuckle of his and you were only thankful that Queen was dismissing everyone as the greeting ceremony had been completed.

"Minkyung!", you heard Donghyun shout towards you as you were petting one of the horses after a short ride. Spending time with a horse you named after your mother, Minseo, always made you feel calmer afterwards. It was times like these where you wished you would have parents or your older brother, actual relatives, to talk to. You trust the others a lot, but a mother was irreplaceable and you felt that right now stronger than ever.  
You had been calm until Donghyun was right in front of you, hair disheveled and sweat dripping from his forehead as he seemingly had been running to get here as quickly as possible. It was already dark and cold outside, the clock almost stroking New Year and the end of 1818.  
"I got this for you when we were at Seoul, a special and different kingdom far from ours.", he explained, his eyes shifting back from your face to the blue envelope in his hand. Taking it into your hands you noticed that it probably wasn't just a letter or notice, but there was also something inside it. It made a sound whenever you shook it and your excitement grew as you carefully opened the envelope. Your eyes widened at the small bracelet that fell into your hands. It was of very thin and elegant silver with a small blue crystal ball hanging on one of the ends. Whenever you shook it made a sound that sounded like very high pitched but soft bell and it had a calming effect on you for some reason.  
"I know your favorite color is blue so I thought hey Minkyung might like this I should buy it it's not like I'm almost king of a whole kingdom so I might as well spend money even though it is expensive as hell but it's pretty so I bought and I hope you don't think this is weird because I think this is the first time I ever got you something but I don't mean anything with this.", Donghyun talked so quickly that you could barely process what he was saying, "And don't read the letter now! You need to read the letter alone or otherwise it is bad luck.", he added in a calmer manner now as he had took a deep breath.  
"Thank you.", you finally said as you kept on staring at the bracelet in your hand, constantly touching the bell so it would make it's sound. It was so cute. You froze for a second as Donghyun suddenly hugged you tightly. It wasn't like you had never hugged before or anything. You hugged often and you had had worse things, for example you had already seen that boy naked anyway. Yet something was different right now. Maybe it was of the was his cologne smelled and felt like it was intoxicating you or the way his heart was beating so fast due to unknown reasons that you could feel it against your own racing chest or maybe even the way you meet eyes with him, those warm brown eyes. This wasn't how friends looked at each other. This wasn't how Donghyun had looked into your eyes a year ago. Something was going on and this was going to be a scandal, you knew for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is is my first try on a royal AU. If you haven't read my tags, I'll be completely honest. This whole idea of Donghyun fitting into a royal AU was created because of the outfit he wore at dream concert. He looked e t h e r e a l my friends. His styled, the white shirt, the blue suit. P e r f e c t. And it kinda gave me prince vibes and suddenly I am here. Also it is 3AM and I proof read this, but I am sure there is something missing.  
> If you even made it this far I am both shocked and proud of you. This is just a prologue, so it's very long. I wanted to outline everything and give as much insight into the story as possible. Chapters are always long in my stories, but not THAT long. I hope you enjoyed it!


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